Burial-casket



(No Model.)

S. W. HERRELL. BURIAL GASKET.

No. 605,639. I Patented June 14, 1898.

lg egfc r J2me e5 fiflzferrdl UNITE STATES PATENT rrrcn.

SAMUEL WEST HERREILLJOF BULLRUN, TENNESSEE.

BIURIAL-CASKET. i

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,639, dated June' 14:, 189 8.

I Application filed June 19, 1897.

7 To all whom it may concern tion;

My invention relates to improvements in burial-caskets or coffins in which provision is made for preserving the corpse in an air-tight plastic inclosure when the ornamental wooden or metallic sections decay-owing to the action of earth and water thereon.

- The object of the invention is to provide novel means for the attachment of the handles, which are situated outside of the vertical walls of the casket or coffin and are not at-j tached directlyto said vertical walls.

To the accomplishment of this end my invention consists in the novel combination of devices and in the construction andarrangement of parts which willsbe' hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment thereof in theaccom'panying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view'of a burial; casket constructed in accordance with my in vention. Fig. 2 is a 'ertical longitudinal sectional view thereof on the planeindicated by the dotted line a: a; of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the plane indicated by the dotted line'y yof Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an inverted or bottom plan view of the casket. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section al viewillustratin g the construction of the handle. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the reinforcement-bars for the interior of the composite casket.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which- A B designate the inner and outer shells,

and O is the filling of plastic composition between said shells, the same forming a composite casket. The inner shell A is made somewhat smaller than the outer shell in order that when the shells are assembled to-' gether by placing the inner shell within the outer shell there is a space or chamber at a $erial No. 641,491. (Nb model.)

between the two shells. In this space or chamber is placed the plastic composition,

' which may consist of cement, glass, or other composition, which is poured into or otherwise placed in said chamber while in a semifiuid condition and is "allowed to set or harden in order to produce a durable filling or core which will remain intact when the inner and outer shells shall decay under the action of the earth and water. Said inner and outer shells may be made of wood, metal, or

inner and outer plate with an interior lining of plastic composition. The inner plate may be integral with the inner shell A of the casket,

and the outside bottom d is integral with the outside shell or'suitably attached thereto.

Across the bottom of the casket is arranged a series of transverse bars E, three or more in number. These bars are secured in a suitable way to the outside bottom 01 of the casket, and their ends are extended beyond the vertical walls of said casket. On the extended ends of the cross-bars is placed a circumferential flan ge cl, which assists in holding the body of the casket in position on the crossbars. The ends of the cross-bars terminate flush with the edge of said flange, so that the cross-bars are concealed practically from view, and said extended ends of the cross These handles are arranged in vertical positions alongside of the vertical walls of the casket; but they are not attached to said walls. The vertical members of the handles are extended or passed through openingsin the circumferential flange d at the bottom of the casket, and said lower ends of the handles are fastened to the'bars E on the bottom side of the casket.

To prevent sudden jars or jolts in handling the casket, the cushions G G are provided, which may consist of a coiled spring or a block of rubber. attached to the bottom at the foot of the casket, and two of said cushions are attached to the cross-bar E beneath the breast portion of the casket, said cushions being arranged near the ends of said cross-bar E.

The cover II of the casket is a composite structure, consisting of an inner shell h, an outer shell 7t, and a plastic filling or core 7L2 between said shells. The edges of the two shells on the under side of the cover are not joined together, so that the filling or core of plastic material is exposed between said edges, and this filling or core is extended or projected beyond the edges of the cover-shells, so as to produce a tongue or flange t', which extends continuously around the edges of the cover. Said tongue or flange t' is adapted to fit snugly into a groove or channel provided in the plastic filling or core of the casket, said channel being designated by the letter j and forming a seal. By this construction of the casket and its cover the plastic cores are joined together in a tight manner, and said cores remain intact when the shells of wood or metal shall have decayed, so that the corpse is contained within an air-tight inelosure.

In the cover II is provided a viewing-opening K, the edges of which are rabbeted, as at 7;, to form a seat for the closure K. The rabbet in the \-"iewing-opening is formed so as to present or expose the plastic filling or core, which is thus made to form the seat for the closure. This closure consists of an outside plate of metal or wood and a backing m of plastic composition, and this backing is adapted to rest upon the seat of plastic composition in the cover, so that the surfaces in contact with the cover and the closure consist of the plastic material.

W'ithin the casket are arranged two or more cross-bars or supports 0, which preferably rest upon the bottom of the casket, and these bars serve as the means for supporting a perforated false bottom P within the casket. This false bottom may consist of wood, metal, cement, or glass, and it is perforated to allow of the drainage of any matters evolved by decomposition of the body within the casket. lly employing the supports to sustain the false bottom above the bottom proper of the casket there is provided a chamber or space Q, in which is placed a suitable absorbing material, such as lime or calcium oxid, which takes up any gases or liquid matters.

The core is protected from injury or breaking by the wood or metal shells, between which the core is arranged, and at the same time the outside protecting-shellaifords an ornamental finish to the coffin, and in making the coffin said outside shell serves as a mold in which to shape or fashion the core. As the outside shell aifords a protection to the composition core, the casket can be shipped and handled to good advantage without injury to the composition core. 7

The core is impervious to moisture or water to afford protection to the corpse therein, and said core also prevents escape of any matters from the casket to prevent contamination of any source of water-supply contiguous to the place of interment.

To hold the cement or other composition within the shells of the casket-body, as well as in the cover and in the closure for the viewing-opening, and also to provide a medium for strengthening the shells of the casket, I employ the brace bars or strips Q. These strips orbars are placed in the body and in the cover, between the shells thereof, and said strips or bars have their straight edges secured to the outside shells in any suitable way. These bars project inwardly from the outer shell substantially at right angles to the plane of the wall thereof, as represented by dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3, but they do not extend all the way across the spaces between the shells, and the inner free edges of said bars or strips have barbs or spurs which embed themselvesin the cementorotherfilling. The strengthening-bars for the closure of the viewing-opening are suitably secured to the top thereof, and they are embedded in the cement or other filling of said closure.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A casket. consisting of shells arranged one within the other and having a filling or core of plastic material, a protruding flange around the bottom of the casket, cross-bars united to the bottom and extended beneath said flange to reinforce the same, and handles fastened to said protruding flange, for the purposes described, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a casket having a protruding flange around the bottom thereof, the crossbars united to said bottom and extended beneath said protruding flange, and handles passing through the flange and united to the ends of said cross-bars, for the purposes described, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL VEST IIERRELL.

\Vitnesses:

A. E. RADEn'r,

%. l3. PEARsoN. 

